Lakers face myriad of issues in season's second half

Dwight Howard remained seated at his stall, alternating between reading his iPad and thumbing through his phone. Kobe Bryant stayed in the trainer's room receiving treatment while keeping company with his family. And the reporters waiting by Bryant's locker whispered idly to each other.

Among this backdrop, the Lakers' white board displayed this message that coach Mike D'Antoni wrote following the Lakers' loss Thursday to the Clippers.

"Recharge your batteries. Come back ready to play."

But as the Lakers (25-29) enter this weekend's All-Star break with a 10 th-place standing in the Western Conference, Bryant left a message that went beyond believing four days of rest suddenly will boost the team's spirits.

"Just focus on how bad you want it and how important this is," Bryant said.

"I'm not very happy right now. Hopefully my teammates feel the same way."

The Lakers' season wasn't supposed to enter the All-Star break this way.

The Lakers assembled plenty of talent this offseason by acquiring an elite center (Howard), passer (Steve Nash), reserve (Antawn Jamison) and three-point shooter (Jodie Meeks). The Lakers made such deals while also keeping Bryant, Pau Gasol and Metta World Peace. Such moves immediately thrust the Lakers' into the championship conversation.

But the unexpected happened.

The Lakers fired Mike Brown following a 1-4 start because of dissatisfaction over his Princeton-based offense. They hired Mike D'Antoni in the hopes that would restore "Showtime" with his fast-paced offense.

Meanwhile, the Lakers struggled adapting to the pace and role changes surrounding D'Antoni's system.

Even with all these external issues, the Lakers maintain their talent alone should've overcome it.

"Hopefully we'd be in the playoff picture, but it's been tough," Lakers guard SteveNash said. "We haven't found a connectivity yet. We've been able to win some games recently.

"But still, I wouldn't say that we've found an identity with the way we play. I think we have to keep striving for that."

The Lakers sound unsure whether winning eight of their last 12 games suggests they've done that. After all, the Lakers nearly blew double-digit leads to sub. 500 teams in New Orleans, Detroit and Minnesota. They clawed back from a 20-point deficit against Charlotte, the worst NBA team. Gasol's absence further exposed the Lakers' depth in double-digit losses to the Miami Heat and Clippers.

"The menu of offensive stuff that you can do, he expands it a lot," Lakers coach MikeD'Antoni said. "We shrink without him. It hurts not having him."

It also hurt that Bryant and Howard appear at odds.

They even disagree on whether it's important how much time they spend together during All-Star weekend to improve their relationship.

"I don't know how much more we need to strengthen it really," Bryant said.

Those aren't the sentiments Bryant expressed last year. He credited the 2012 All-Star weekend in Orlando as a huge turning point in his relationship with Andrew Bynum since they marked the two lone Lakers playing in the game. Bryant had dinner with Bynum and found new appreciation for the center's new-found hunger in expanding his game.

Howard sounded hopeful such a getaway could do the same thing.

"Hopefully. We'll see how it goes," Howard said. "It has to get better. We have to continue to work on it."

Where can it get better?

Said Howard: "It's personal." Howard refused to discuss the issue further, but there's plenty of incidents that could make Howard feel that way.

Bryant and Howard have had philosophical differences on each other's roles.

Howard felt initial frustration for his diminished offensive role compared to his eight seasons with the Orlando Magic. Bryant had expressed irritation over Howard's inconsistency on defense and his jovial personality in the locker room.

The issues were serious enough for Bryant to confront Howard about it in an air-it-out meeting three weeks ago in Memphis. The dynamic improved until Howard aggravated a torn labrum in his right shoulder that sidelined him two weeks ago for two games.

Bryant then sparked attention for comments attributed to him in an ESPN.com report in which he said, "We don't have time for (Howard's shoulder) to heal. We need some urgency."

Bryant maintains the public over-reacted to his quotes. Nonetheless, Howard testily reminded reporters, "Kobe's not a doctor." Howard's dad then told the Atlanta Journal Constitution his son, Bryant and D'Antoni should have a sit-down meeting, an idea all parties rejected.

"I think it's where it should be," Bryant said. "The communication that I have with him is about execution and about what he needs to do on the court. That's where it's going to stay."

But the Lakers remain adamant the losing will stop.

Bryant believes that will only happen if his teammates adopt the same serious approach that has maximized his greatness for all these years.

"If it's important to us," Bryant said, "we'll show up ready to play."